Adding to the excitement of the kickoff to Something Corporate’s long-awaited reunion tour tonight in Brooklyn, frontman and veteran indie-pop singer-songwriter-pianist Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and his beloved early 2000s pop-punk band Something Corporate have released their new single ‘Death Grip.’ The track is available now via Big Loud Rock, representing the first in a new partnership between McMahon and the label, with more to come.
The process of writing and creating ‘Death Grip’ was different for McMahon, who took a casual trip to Nashville in April to flex his dormant writing muscle with friends Luke Nicolli and Ivory Layne. On his last day in town, the trio was able to articulate the moment McMahon had been living in: one of peace and letting go and accepting that the craft that had defined his life doesn’t need to be at the center of every moment of his life. He immediately decided the song needed to be released into the world as soon as possible and with the Something Corporate shows on the horizon, McMahon called upon his original band mates to see if his old friends would be into collaborating again on something new for the first time in over 20 years. ‘Death Grip’ also marks the first taste of new music from McMahon since the release of his fourth studio album, ‘Tilt At The Wind No More’, in 2023 under his longstanding Wilderness moniker.
“I honestly didn’t expect to be releasing new music this year,” shares McMahon. “I’ve lived on the write, record, release, tour hamster wheel for a long time and decided after the last album I would do things differently. Giving myself permission to enjoy home, enjoy the reunion shows, and work on other projects has been really good for me. I have historically put so much pressure on myself to keep producing, to keep fighting for my relevance, and I often forget that some of the biggest moments in my career and my life in general have manifested in times when I’ve chosen to take my hands off the wheel a bit and trust that things will be okay. That’s what ‘Death Grip’ is about. Finding a rhythm in life that allows everything to exist at once without forcing things into being.”
“I was nervous to bring up the idea of collaborating with the Something Corporate guys again on this song, but they were so supportive and excited by the idea of taking what we did together so many years ago and layering it onto this Wilderness process I’ve worked within for the last 10 years,” McMahon adds. “Being back in the studio together, it was like no time had passed and the recording came as easy as the creation of the song had been. There was a lot of laughing, a lot of stories told and memories revisited. From the time this song was written to the time it will be available in people’s speakers, less than three months will have passed. There are plenty of arguments to be made for not rushing work out, but I think fast-tracking this song back into the world is the truest way to honor what inspired its creation in the first place. It’s a song about letting go and having faith that everything will work out, so we’re letting it go. We’ll see what happens next. I also have to shout out the Big Loud Rock team, who I’ve been so impressed with. When I told them I was excited to release music on this insane timeline, they didn’t even blink. When I said I have no idea what comes next but I’m inspired, they said they were excited to take this journey with me.”
“It’s a privilege for Big Loud Rock to release the first Something Corporate music in 20 years and be in business with Andrew McMahon,” adds Greg Thompson, president of Big Loud Rock. “We are honored to be a partner in his amazing musical journey and are excited to help tell their story.”